2 Samuel 23:9

2Sa 23:9 And after him [was] Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, [one] of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines [that] were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away:

Ver. 9. When they defied the Philistines,] viz., At Pasdammim. {1Ch 11:13}

And the men of Israel were gone away.] Fled, and forsook their captains; a shame to forsake such a captain, of whom it might be said, as was once of Fabius Maximus,

“ Hic patria est, murique urbis stant pectore in uno. ” - Silius.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Sa 23:9-10. The men of Israel were gone away — Had fled from before the Philistines, as it is explained, 1Ch 11:13, being dismayed at the sight of them. And his hand clave unto the sword — Being all besmeared with blood. The Lord wrought a great victory that day — Like that of Shamgar and of Samson; God inspiring him with wonderful courage, and striking a terror into the Philistines. The people returned after him only to spoil — They that had fled, rallied again when they saw the wonders he did; and followed after him, not to fight, but only to partake of the spoil.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Or, assailed with danger of their lives.

Meaning, fled from the battle.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 9. When they defied the Philistines that were there gathered] This is supposed to refer to the war in which David slew Goliath.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(9) Dodo the Ahohite.—So in the Hebrew margin here, and so also in 1Ch_11:12; the text here has Dodai, as in 1Ch_27:4, where he is mentioned as the general for the second month. The name is the same under slightly differing forms. “Ahohite” is a patronymic derived from Ahoah, son of Bela, Benjamin’s son (1Ch_8:4).

When they defied . . . there gathered.—The words “there gathered” require the mention of some place, and the construction of the word for “defied” is unusual. The parallel passage in Chronicles reads, “He was with David at Pas-dammim, and there the Philistines,” &c. The difference between the two readings is not great in the original, and the latter is better. Pas-dammim is the Ephes-dammim of 1Sa_17:1, where Goliath defied the armies of Israel, and was slain by David.

Were gone away—Rather, were gathered to battle. So it is translated in the LXX., Vulg., and Syriac, and so the Hebrew requires. The error is a curious one, and seems to have arisen in this way: In 1Ch_11:13 the mention of the battle in which Shammah was engaged (2Sa_23:11) is altogether omitted, and the expression “the people fled from before the Philistines” therefore becomes connected with this battle. Josephus follows that text, and our translators were probably misled by him. Several lines have dropped out from the text in Chronicles.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9. Dodo] The Kthîbh may be read Dodai, as the name is given in 1Ch_27:4, where we learn that Dodai, as next in rank to Jashobeam, was general of the second division of the army.

the Ahohite] A patronymic derived from Ahoah, the son of Benjamin’s eldest son Bela (1Ch_8:4). Perhaps Dodo, like Jashobeam, was one of the Benjamites who joined David at Ziklag (1Ch_12:1-2).

that were there gathered together] There implies the previous mention of the name of some place, and certain anomalies of construction also indicate that the text is defective. 1Ch_11:13 reads: “Eleazar … one of the three mighty men. He was with David at Pas-dammim, and there the Philistines were gathered together to battle.” Pas-dammim, or Ephesdammim, where David slew Goliath, was in the valley of Elah, between Shochoh and Azekah. The name, signifying “boundary of blood,” was probably due to its being the scene of frequent skirmishes with the Philistines. See 1Sa_17:1.

were gone away] Rather, went up to battle. The words “and the people fled from before the Philistines,” which appear to correspond to this in 1Ch_11:13, really belong to Shammah’s exploit (2Sa_23:11). Several lines have been lost from the text there.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite,.... Or the son of Ahohi, perhaps the same with Ahoah, a descendant of Benjamin, Ch1 8:4; this Eleazar was the next to the Tachmonite, the second worthy of the first class:

one of the three mighty men with David; the second of the three valiant men that were with David in his wars, and fought with him, and for him:

when they defied the Philistines; clapped their hands at them, gloried over them, daring them to come and light them; so did David and his mighty men, as Goliath had defied them before:

that were there gathered together to battle; at Pasdammim, as appears from Ch1 11:13,

and the men of Israel were gone away; fled when they saw the Philistines gather together to fight them, notwithstanding they had defied them; and so David, and his three mighty men, were left alone to combat with the Philistines.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Gone away - Rather, went up to battle (2Sa 5:19; 2Ki 3:21, etc.) against them. These words and what follows as far as “troop” 2Sa 23:11 have fallen out of the text in Chronicles. The effect of this is to omit EIeazar’s feat, as here described, to attribute to him Shammah’s victory, to misplace the flight of the Israelites, and to omit Shammah altogether from the list of David’s mighty men.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Dodo. In Latin, Patrui ejus, which is the interpretation of the Hebrew name Dodo. The same occurs in ver. 24, (Challoner) and signifies, "of his paternal uncle." (Haydock) --- Septuagint read Dudia, (Calmet) "of his father’s brother." He, or his father, is styled Dudai, 1 Paralipomenon xxvii. 4. (Calmet) --- Septuagint (Alexandrian) translates both Dodo and Dodi, "the son of his father’s brother," the son of Sousei, or (Vatican) Doudei. Dodi seems to be the more accurate here, as he is thus more distinguished from Dodo, ver. 24., and Chronicles v. 26.[1 Paralipomenon xi. 26.?] --- Defied. Hebrew is incorrect, and ought to be a proper name as is evident from the word there. Josephus calls it, Greek: arasamo, (perhaps originally, Greek: aphasdamo) Chronicles, Pasdammim, or Ephesdammim, 1 Kings xvii. 1. It is hardly probable that the Hebrews should defy or upbraid the Philistines, and immediately run away. We should therefore translate with 1 Paralipomenon men. "He was with David at Pasdammim. And when the Philistines were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away, he arose," &c. (Kennicott)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The Ahohite; of the children of Ahoah, 1Ch 8:4.

One of the three, i. e. one of the first three, 2Sa 23:19.

Mighty men with David; who were with David at this time, or who usually attended upon David.

When they defied the Philistines; when he either in the name of all the Israelites, or with the countenance and help of some of them, challenged the Philistines to fight. Or, when some of, or among, the Philistines defied them, i. e. the Israelites, according to their manner, and the example of their great Goliath, 1Sa 17:25,36. Or, in Harpam (for some make it a proper name of a place) among the Philistines. Gone away, i. e. fled away, 1Ch 11:13, being dismayed at the approach of their enemies. Heb. ascended, i. e. vanished away like smoke, which ascends, and so disappears, as that verb is oft used.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

9. Of the three mighty men — Referring, doubtless, to the three of this first class, namely, Jashobeam, Eleazar, and Shammah.

When they defied the Philistines — According to Chronicles this encounter took place at Pas-dammim, doubtless the same as Ephes-dammim of 1Sa_17:1, but it was not the same battle as there described.

The men of Israel were gone away — Retreated from him, so that he was left singlehanded before the enemy.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Dodo. The Hebrew has Dodai, and "Dodo" is a mere correction of the Massorites to bring the name into verbal agreement with 1Ch_11:12; but in 1Ch_27:4 he is called Dodai, and we there find him in command of the second division of the army. For "Dodai," however, we ought to read there "Eleazar the son of Dodai." Ahohite; Hebrew, the son of an Ahohite, and probably a member of the family descended from Ahoah, a son of Benjamin. (1Ch_8:4) He would thus belong to the most warlike tribe of Israel, though not mentioned among the Benjamites who joined David at Ziklag. (1Ch_12:1-7) He joined him, apparently, at an earlier date. That were there gathered together. The word "there" implies the previous mention of some place, and though the text in the parallel passage in Chronicles is more corrupt than that before us, it has, nevertheless, preserved the name of the spot where the encounter took place. In Chronicles the name of Shammah is omitted, and his achievement is mixed up in a strange fashion with that of Eleazar. Here the two heroes have each his separate record, and it is only on minor matters that the text there is more correct. Restored from the readings in Chronicles, the narrative is as follows: "He was with David at Pas-dammim, and the Philistines were gathered there to battle, and the men of Israel were gone up: and he stood (that is, made a stand) and smote," etc. Pas-dammim is called Ephes-dammim in 1Sa_17:1. It was situated in the valley of Elah, and, as being upon the border, was the scene of numerous conflicts, whence its name, "the boundary of blood." It was there that David slew Goliath. Were gone away; Hebrew, went up; that is, to battle. The idea that the Israelites had fled is taken from the parallel place in Chronicles, where, however, it refers to Shammah"s exploit. In vers. 9 and 11 there, the phrase, "the Philistines were gathered together," occurs twice, and the scribe, having accidentally omitted the intervening words, has confused together the exploits of Eleazar and Shammah. In this battle Eleazar withstood the Philistine onset, and smote them till his hand clave to his sword hilt. Many such instances of cramp are recorded, and Mr. Kirkpatrick, in his commentary, quotes one in which the muscles of a warrior"s hand could be relaxed, after hard fighting, only by fomentations of hot water.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gone away - That is, fled away, 1 Chron. xi, 13, being dismayed at the approach of their enemies.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

General Information:

This continues the list of David's greatest soldiers. (See: How to Translate Names)

The army returned after Eleazar

This means that the army returned after Eleazar returned from battle. AT: "The Israeli army returned to the battle field after Eleazer had already won the battle" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

only to strip the bodies

"only to take what they wanted from the dead bodies of the enemies"

translationWords

might

Philistines

sword

Yahweh

body

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

The son of Dodo. This was his name.

One of the three mighty men. Of the best of the mighty men.

When they humiliated the Pelishtim. They made an agreement with each other to fight them and to vanquish them.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.